Christmas Eve at Pandemonium
by swaggyzebraTW
Summary: Shot 3 of the predicted 12. The Lightwoods along with Clary and Magnus decide to go to Pandemonium for Christmas Eve, since they have nothing else to do and the club is having a Christmas special. Clary creates a new rune, but has no idea what it does. Jace encourages her to try it on him. What will happen? Two-Shot.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Here is shot three of the predicted twelve. This one is special, and will actually be a two shot that I will count as two one-shots. Sorry to confuse, I'll explain in the end. Thanks for reading, please enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Mortal Instruments**_**, all rights go to Cassie Clare and her people. **

"Pass the Lo Mein, would you?" Isabelle asked lamely, pointing at the take-out container with her fork.

I grabbed the box, wordlessly handing it to Jace, who then passed it down towards Isabelle.

It was Christmas Eve, and the Lightwoods, along with myself, were currently at the Institute, chowing on Chinese take-out from a place down the street. No one had planned on cooking anything spectacular for the occasion, and when dinnertime rolled around, Alec ended up calling Yummy's, a cheap, grimy restaurant that just happened to serve the best freezer-isle crab rangoon.

We had all agreed that Izzy should never, ever, cook anything for the rest of her life. When anyone had tried to teach her the proper cooking techniques, she had simply failed them miserably. The woman could kill five demons at once using only one hand, but she would die before she could ever made an edible dish, even though the rest of her immediate family could prepare some food just fine. Alec could make some amazing homemade pizza rolls, along with some lasagna, Jace was phenomenal at breakfast foods, and both Robert and Maryse knew how to cook; which made it even more odd that such a talented girl such as Izzy couldn't even make mac-and-cheese from a box. No one could make any sense of it.

I looked up, snapping from my musings. "What are we doing?" I asked.

They all gave me blank, confused expressions. "What do you mean? We're eating dinner."

I shook my head. "It's Christmas Eve, and we're all stuck here, eating crappy Chinese take-out, doing absolutely nothing remotely festive or interesting. Shouldn't we be out, doing something that we all would enjoy?"

"What would we do?" Alec asked. "Robert and Maryse aren't home, and it's almost eight."

Shadow-hunters had to have been the only kids that actually called parents by their real names instead of mom and dad. "I don't know, anything except what we're doing right now." I said.

Izzy suddenly grinned, as though an idea had popped into her head. "We should totally go clubbing!" She exclaimed excitedly.

"No." Alec stated. "We are definitely not going clubbing the night before a supposedly 'holy' day."

"Why not?" Jace asked, joining in on the conversation. "We have absolutely nothing else to do, and besides, there are probably some special holiday parties and stuff going on."

Although I wasn't usually fond of clubbing, especially since it consisted short skirts and low cut tops, I couldn't really agree with him more. "I'm in." I said.

"You are?" They all chorused at once, giving me skeptical looks.

I nodded. "Of course. I even heard that Pandemonium is having a Christmas special, where all the lights are holiday colored, along with the alcohol, and there is a special discount at the door."

"But… You never like going clubbing, even when we're demon hunting." Alec stated.

"I like the thought of going out better than the thought of staying here tonight."

Izzy smiled and did that creepy, girly clap thing before standing up. "Then it's settled. We're going out tonight, and we're leaving in an hour. Clary, come with me."

I pecked Jace once on the cheek before following Izzy out of the dining room and into the hallway. "Wow, Iz. You only gave us an hour to get ready. Are you sure you can pull it off?" I said sarcastically.

"Hell, I can. You and I are going to be sexy in sixty minutes, I promise. Jace won't be able to keep his hands…"

I clapped my hands over my ears. "What have I told you about going into details about Jace's and I's romantic life?"

"That I should always tell it to you like novelized porn?" She said, opening the door to her mess of a room.

"No!" I shouted embarrassingly. "Just tell me what I should wear."

The tall shadow-hunter began to search through her closet, occasionally tossing things out of the way. "So, you're going to tell me that you and Jace have never actually done anything?"

"Of course not, Iz! We've been over this!"

"Christmas Eve is a romantic enough day to you know, do it, not to mention, we're join clubbing, which just makes it a perfect time…"

"Ah, god, Izzy! Just stop!"

"Why?" She asked, tossing me a dress long enough to be a shirt but nothing else. "Most girls our age like talking about their love lives."

I shook my head. "No, when you start talking about _that_, it just becomes super awkward and uncomfortable. Not to mention, this is your brother we're talking about, Iz."

"Technically he's not my bother." She stated.

"Do you enjoy thinking of him sticking a hand down my pants?"

She seemed to think it over for a second. "_Your_ pants? No."

I grabbed the alleged dress and walked into the bathroom. There was no way I actually wanted to continue that conversation with Isabelle, and getting prepared for our outing seemed like the only escape.

I pulled the material over my head, and saw that it was about the length of the first dress I had ever worn to Pandemonium, only this one was impossibly shorter. It was black, shorter in the front then longer in the back, and had lovely golden swirls climbing up it. It was also strapless, which ended up making me feel quite naked with my bare shoulders.

I called out to Isabelle. "Do you have a sweater to go with this?"

She barged in unexpectedly, giving me a once-over. "I wasn't planning on it, and besides, you look pretty good in that as it is."

"I feel naked." I mumbled, turning back towards the mirror.

"Well that dress will make Jace _wish_ you were naked." She said, and I could practically feel her grin.

I shook my head. "You know he doesn't think that stuff with me, Iz. He said he is willing to wait as long as he has to…"

"He doesn't _say_ that stuff with you in the room, but it's what he's thinking. Come on, Clary. He's Jace freaking Wayland. A teenage boy, who notices when his attractive girlfriend wears something that makes her look even better than usual. Now come, I have to do your hair and make-up."

I sighed, following her to the messy dressing table on the back wall of her bedroom. "Try to not make me look like a Barbie?" I asked.

"Sure. Now turn around." She ordered as she began to clip up my hair.

I looked at her work in the mirror, and it reminded me of the time when Jace had pulled all of the pins out of my hair, right before we had gone in search of Magnus Bane. Isabelle had spent a long time putting all of my hair up, just for Jace to bring it all down. She had been quite angry with me and the boy, if I remember correctly.

"You know Jace is just going to take it down, right?" I said.

She nodded. "Of course, but at least then he's actually touching you."

I blushed. "Thanks, I guess."

She came over with some eyeliner and mascara. "You can thank me later. Close your eyes."

I did as she asked, and felt the wand make its way along my lashes. She repeated the process a few times, applying about four layers in the end, along with some eyeliner. "You can open your eyes now." She stated.

My eyes widened at the sight before me, but in a good way. I looked amazing, to say the least. My green eyes were accented by the eye make-up she applied, and my face looked impossibly blemish-free. "Oh my gosh, Iz! You're magic!"

She laughed. "I know, I know. Merry Christmas Eve, Clary."

I hadn't noticed that she had gotten ready herself while I had been changing. "You look great too, Izzy!" I said. "Is Simon coming?"

"No, he's actually visiting family and doing stuff, as he was while we were eating take-out."

"I'm sorry." I apologized. "What about Magnus?"

"Yeah, he's coming I'm sure. Warlocks don't have many mundane holiday arrangements."

What was with this family and calling humans mundanes, and why do they always insist upon saying it like some trashy term? "You do realize that technically, Simon and I were both mundanes at one point, right?"

"As Jace probably tells you all the time, he never saw you as mundane, and you never really were mundane, and Simon is now a down-world vampire. That means that neither of you are mundanes anymore, and therefore, you shouldn't be offended by the term."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Iz. I just think that it's a little weird, that's all."

She shrugged. "Come on, we were supposed to be downstairs five minutes ago."

~Line Break~

I walked down the spiral staircase, careful not to trip in the high-heeled boots Izzy had made me wear. I spotted Alec, Jace, and Magnus by the door, and they all turned to look up at us as we neared them. Jace's jaw dropped momentarily, before he composed himself enough to simply smile.

He walked towards me, leaning in to whisper in my ear. "You look beautiful."

He pulled the pins out of my hair, just as I had predicted, allowing it to cascade down my shoulders, giving me the odd sensation of tickling along my bare shoulders. "Thanks."

Jace placed my hand in his, turning to the rest of our group. "Are all of you ready?"

They nodded. "Then let's go!"

We walked outside, hailing the first cab that passed us. Somehow, four of us managed to squeeze in the back, with Izzy taking the passenger seat. Alec grimaced, getting shoved up against the side of the cab.

"Clary, get on Jace's lap, you're crushing my boyfriend." Magnus stated, as though it was the most normal thing in the world.

My eyes widened as Jace placed his hands on my waist, pulling me into his lap. "Jace!"

"What?" He asked innocently. "We're dating, and there's not enough room in this cab for all of us to have our own seats."

I said nothing, making myself comfortable for the rest of the ride by resting my head on Jace's shoulder. Izzy yapped for the rest of the car-ride, spouting words of glee and happiness as she bored us to death on what exactly we would do when we arrived at the party.

"We're all gonna get hammered, and do absolutely no demon-hunting at all tonight!" She exclaimed.

Jace covered for her after the cabbie gave us a weird look. "She's already hammered, sir. Ignore whatever she says, as it probably is a blasphemous as that previous statement. Right guys?"

We all nodded, and Izzy scowled for our cover-story, giving us the trademark "was that truly necessary?" look.

Eventually, we pulled up to the club, and piled out of the car, only to spot a monstrous line at the door.

"There's no way we're getting into _that_." Alec stated lamely.

Izzy smiled. "I never said that we were going to."

"How else…"

She cut him off impishly. "Watch and learn, Alexander."

We all watched as she skipped up the the front of the line, standing right up to the bouncer. She put a seductive smirk on her face, and flipped her hair. We all watched in amusement as the man's throat moved, signaling a nervous swallow as Izzy fluttered her eyelashes. She moved closer to him, and leaned to whisper in his ear. I saw that her lips were moving, forming words without a doubt, although we could not hear her.

The bouncer blushed, nodded, thanked her, and pulled the rope aside. Isabelle called us over with her hand, grinning madly as giving us the "I told you so" look.

Jace wrapped a protective arm around me as we passed the filthy teenage boys in line, who all seemed to be ogling me. "Ignore them," He said irritably. "They like to think that you're not mine at the end of the night."

I guess it felt nice to be wanted, but Jace was right. I was his, now, and as long as he would accept me, and nothing would ever change that. Not another boy, not any problem or bump in the road, not anything. If what I feel for Jace isn't love, I don't know what else it could be.

Entering the club, I spotted all of the usual sights; couples making-out, demons and down-worlders, creepy underdressed females, and boys with predatory expressions upon their faces. On top of all that, Pandemonium was decked out for the holidays. The usually vibrantly rainbow colored strobe lights were now only green and red, and decorations were hung everywhere. Like the flyer had advertised, all alcoholic beverages appeared to also be Christmas colored. All of the waitresses were dressed as slutty elves and .

"Want a drink?" Jace asked, speaking loudly over all of the surrounding sounds.

"I don't know." I answered. "I haven't ever had any alcohol before…"

He smiled. "There's a first for everything, but you don't have to if you don't wan to."

"Does it…" I trailed off before continuing. "Hurt?"

He bent over laughing, before he forced himself to be composed. "What's so funny?" I asked indignantly.

"You." He stated, moving his lips closer to mine. "You're so innocent and unaware, it's adorable."

Before I could respond, Jace brought his lips to mine, meeting them in a sweet kiss. When we pulled apart, he pointed to the ceiling, where a small strand of mistletoe could be seen. "Really?" I asked. "I thought you didn't do super cliché stuff, Jace."

"I don't usually, but this gave me an excuse to kiss you, so I saw it as an easy win."

I rolled my eyes. "You never did answer my question about alcohol."

"Oh yeah, I forgot." He said, laughing again. "Not really, it feels pretty nice to most people. Shadow-hunters have a higher tolerance for the drink too, although we can still get drunk with enough of it."

"Do you like it?" I asked, genuinely curious.

He shook his head. "I've gotten drunk sometimes as a desperate attempt to drown away my sorrows, but trust me when I say that it doesn't help. Hangovers are just as bad as their rumored to be, and no rune can cure that kind of pain."

"No rune that you know of." I mumbled.

His eyes lit up. "You could probably make a rune to heal it, I'm sure. You're skills are quite useful."

I thought of the rune that had come to mind last night. I still had no idea what it did, and after I looked it up in the big book of runes, I couldn't find it. That had been the first rune I created that I hadn't known the meaning of. A part of me was really curious, and wanted to find out what it did, though another piece of me figured that it was unsafe to test out a random rune. It could be bad.

Jace's melodic voice snapped me out of my reverie. "What are you thinking about? You just got lost in space, I think."

I answered honestly. "A rune that I thought of last night."

"What does this rune do?" He asked, genuinely curious.

I shook my head. "That's the thing. I don't know what it does, and it's not a rune that's in the book."

"Why don't we try it out, then?" He asked, grinning as he pulled out a stele from his belt.

"Jace, we're in public, and besides, it could be dangerous."

"Our everything about our lives is dangerous, and about the public bit, we can go in the back alleyway behind this place." He said, grabbing my hand and puling me towards an exit.

"What about Izzy, Alec, and Magnus?" I asked hurriedly.

"We'll be back before they even notice we're gone." Jace said, opening the back door to the alleyway.

I was met with the overwhelming scent of urine and tobacco, which made me cough. Jace apologized. "I'm sorry, it's not very sanitary, by any means, but no one else is out here. Where do you want to place the rune?"

I thought about it, though I quickly remembered that I knew nothing about this rune other than what it looks like. "Hmmm… I don't really know, so why don't I just put it on your wrist?"

"Sure." Jace said, holding out his wrist and placing the stele in my hand.

"Are you sure you want to do this? What if…"

He cut me off. "I'll be fine, Clary. Stop worrying about it."

I nodded, beginning to trace the intricate design along his forearm. It ended up looking like a creepy "J" with a curly line and a small "x" though it. I kept a hold of his wrist, watching for any signs of an immediate change. "How do you feel?" I asked worriedly.

"No different then I did five minutes ago. Are you sure you did the rune correctly…"

His words were cut off sharply by a large whooshing sound. "What's happening?" I shouted loudly over the offending noise.

"I don't know! Did you summon something?"

"Of course not!"

Before another word could be spoken, Jace and I were sucked up by what felt like a tornado of death, which sent us spiraling into the air. We were both screaming, though it seemed as we were somehow disconnected front he earth, and no one could hear our hopeless cries. My hand was still clasped tightly around Jace's wrist, and I clung onto him as though my life depended on it.

Within seconds, my whole vision of the earth disappeared, and I was swallowed in a vision of darkness. I could still feel that I was moving, as my body felt as though it was a rag doll being town through the air. Fright consumed me, though before I could be positive that I was going to die, I hit the ground, hard.

My vision slowly came back, and I could see that I had landed on Jace. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I'm getting an odd sense of De Já Vu from that time when we were in that portal, though."

I laughed a little at that, scrambling off him so I could study where we were. I was cold, and there was snow everywhere. It looked as though Jace and I had entered a Winter Wonderland of sorts, and it seemed surreal. Wind blew snow against our cheeks, making them turn red within seconds. "Where are we?" I asked, dazed.

He shrugged. "It looks like we're in the North Pole to be honest. That rune must have been a portal."

"We're going to freeze to death!" I stated loudly, beginning to pace.

He offered me his jacket. "Merry Christmas Eve, Clary. It looks as though we're going to be spending it freezing our asses off in the North Pole."

"We should look for shelter." I recommended, beginning to walk in a random direction."

"We're not going to find any." He stated sadly. "We're in the middle of an ice desert."

**AN: READ THIS AS IT CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFO REGARDING THE NEXT CHAPTER OF THIS FIC. Okay, I got this alleged Christmas One-shot above 3,000 words, and I'm going to continue it in another one. Yes, the next one-shot I publish will be more Christmassy, though it will only be a continuation of this. So, not to confuse anyone, I WILL BE POSTING CHAPTER TWO ON THIS STORY, AND ALSO PUBLISHING IT AS ANOTHER ONE-SHOT so I can stay on schedule. I'm still trying to do twelve, and as of right now, including this one, I only have three. You'll have to expect one every two days, I guess, although I may fall behind. It's really hard. Anyway, thanks for reading, sorry this one might have been poopy and not Christmassy, though I assure you the next one will be better. **


	2. The Heart of Christmas

**AN: PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A CONTINUATION OF MY PREVIOUS SHOT, WHICH ALTHOUGH NECESSARY TO REAL TO UNDERSTAND THIS, I RECOMMEND DOING SO TO LEAVE AS LITTLE CONFUSION AS POSSIBLE. Here is the (not really) awaited fourth shot of my predicted series of twelve, and I must say that I seriously owe a thanks to Trans Siberian Orchestra. I pretty much listened to "Dreams of Fireflies" and "Wizards in Winter" on repeat while writing this. If you have never listened to this Christmas group, I highly recommend it. Their instrumental pieces are phenomenal, and pretty much all I listen to this time of year. Anyway, thanks for reading, and look out for the next shot within three days! Also, title based on the song title by Matthew West, "The Heart of Christmas".  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Mortal Instruments**_**, all rights go to Cassie Clare and her people.**

I was met with the overwhelming scent of urine and tobacco as we entered the alleyway in the back of Pandemonium, which made me cough. Jace apologized. "I'm sorry, it's not very sanitary, by any means, but no one else is out here. Where do you want to place the rune?"

I thought about it, though I quickly remembered that I knew nothing about this rune other than what it looks like. "Hmmm… I don't really know, so why don't I just put it on your wrist?"

"Sure." Jace said, holding out his wrist and placing the stele in my hand.

"Are you sure you want to do this? What if…"

He cut me off. "I'll be fine, Clary. Stop worrying about it."

I nodded, beginning to trace the intricate design along his forearm. It ended up looking like a creepy "J" with a curly line and a small "x" though it. I kept a hold of his wrist, watching for any signs of an immediate change. "How do you feel?" I asked worriedly.

"No different then I did five minutes ago. Are you sure you did the rune correctly…"

His words were cut off sharply by a large whooshing sound. "What's happening?" I shouted loudly over the offending noise.

"I don't know! Did you summon something?" He asked, looking around frantically.

"Of course not!" I said, hoping it was the truth.

Before another word could be spoken, Jace and I were sucked up by what felt like a tornado of death, which sent us spiraling into the air. We were both screaming, though it seemed as we were somehow disconnected front he earth, and no one could hear our hopeless cries. My hand was still clasped tightly around Jace's wrist, and I clung onto him as though my life depended on it.

Within seconds, my whole vision of the earth disappeared, and I was swallowed in a vision of darkness. I could still feel that I was moving, as my body felt as though it was a rag doll being town through the air. Fright consumed me, though before I could be positive that I was going to die, I hit the ground, hard.

My vision slowly came back, and I could see that I had landed on Jace. "Are you okay?"

He nodded. "I'm getting an odd sense of De Já Vu from that time when we were in that portal, though."

I laughed a little at that, scrambling off him so I could study where we were. I was cold, and there was snow everywhere. It looked as though Jace and I had entered a Winter Wonderland of sorts, and it seemed surreal. Wind blew snow against our cheeks, making them turn red within seconds. "Where are we?" I asked, dazed.

He shrugged. "It looks like we're in the North Pole to be honest. That rune must have been a portal."

"We're going to freeze to death!" I stated loudly, beginning to pace.

He offered me his jacket. "Merry Christmas Eve, Clary. It looks as though we're going to be spending it freezing our asses off in the North Pole."

"We should look for shelter." I recommended, beginning to walk in a random direction."

"We're not going to find any." He stated sadly. "We're in the middle of an ice desert."

"What should we do, then?" I asked. "Tomorrow's Christmas Eve, and no one knows where we are. Not to mention, they'll never guess that we're in the North Pole."

He pulled my phone out of my pocket. "Maybe you have reception."

I gave him skeptical glare. "You just said that we're in the middle of an ice desert. Why would we have reception?"

He stared at the screen for a few seconds before exclaiming, "I have a bar! There's reception!"

"Call Alec then!" I said, watching his dial and pull the phone up to his ear.

"**Hello?"** Alec asked into the receiver.

"Alec, you've gotta help us…" Jace began.

"**Where the hell are you guys? We've been looking for you, and we can't find you anywhere!"**

"We think we're in the North Pole. It's really cold, and there's snow everywhere!"

"**Jace."** Alec said. **"Are you drunk?"**

Jace's eyes widened indignantly. "Of course not! We're at the goddamn North Pole right now, and we need your help."

"**Jace, tell me where you and Clary are, and we'll come get you."**

"I just told you where we are, Alec! Clary tried out this new rune, and apparently it was a portal of sorts, and now we're stuck with Santa."

"**Wait. You're with Santa? Now I definitely know you're hammered out of your mind."**

"I was joking about Santa, dumb-ass. But seriously, put a track on our Clary's phone if you don't believe us."

"**You sound really convincing for a drunk boy. Now put Clary on the line."**

Jace handed me the phone with a brief explanation. "Alec doesn't believe me, and he wants to talk to you."

"Hello?" I said into the receiver.

"**Clary, are you drunk too?" **Alec asked irritably.

"No, I've never had a drop of alcohol in my life." I answered honestly. "I'm as sober as can be."

"**Okay, then. Jace is drunk out of his mind, you know. Anyway, where are you?"**

I rolled my eyes. "Jace just told you! We're in the North Pole."

"**Oh, by the Angel! What the hell is wrong with you guys? Whatever happened to just saying no to drugs and alcohol?"**

"Alec, please. We need to find a way out of here. It's freezing. Seriously, track our phones or something. We need to get out of here." I pleaded.

"**I'll call you guys in a few hours to see if you've settled down enough by then to at least tell me where you are. Bye, Clary. Don't let you or Jace do anything stupid, okay?"**

"Alec, wait!" I said loudly, only to be answered by the sound of disconnection. "Dammit!"

Jace came over. "Did he hang up on you? Clary, you never curse."

"Well, I've never been stuck in the Arctic with no one to pick us up." I stated sarcastically.

"I never knew you were capable of sarcasm and dry humor, Clary!" He joked, flashing a grin.

That statement earned yet another eye-roll. "Haha, very funny, Jace. Now seriously, what are we supposed to do?"

"You could make another one of those runes…" He recommended.

I shook my head vigorously. "No way. It was a mistake using that rune in the first place, and we still don't know what it does or how to use it."

"Come on, Clary. How much worse could it be than being stuck here?" Jace asked, his eyes pleading.

"I'm not doing it, Jace. We'll find a way out, all we have to do is search for it." I said, beginning to walk towards a random bank of snow.

"Where are you going?" He asked, jogging to catch up to me.

"I'm looking for civilization." I stated. "You should try it whenever you're in tedious situations such as this one."

He rolled his eyes. "It's not like we're going to just walk in on Santa and his elves, Clary. We're in the middle of nowhere. No one is here."

"Well, sitting here, dining nothing, waiting for someone who will never come, is utterly pointless at this point, Jace. We made a mistake, I made a mistake, and I'm going to try to fix it."

He grabbed my wrist, forcing me to look into his eyes. "Clary, don't blame yourself for this. I shouldn't have asked you to put that rune on, and I'm sorry if I pressured you, but I'm sure we'll make it out of here just fine."

I nodded. "I hope you're right, but I'm still going to try to find someone anyway."

Jace clasped my hand in his, and we began to walk through the frigid cold of what we could only presume was the Arctic. All we could see was florescent hills of white, for miles. We strided purposefully in a random direction which I could only hope was North, though I knew that neither me nor Jace had any real clue.

Time ticked by slowly, and I become colder with every passing hour of us seeing nothing but planes of white. My toes felt as though they were numb little blocks of ice, and Jace's cheeks were red from the wind. We had been walking for hours, and it was beginning to get dark. We only had about another hour of light left, at the max, and then the temperature would drop significantly, and we were both unprepared for that.

"We've been walking for hours, and we still haven't seen anything. It's going to get dark soon." I stated dully.

Jace looked as though he was about to agree, but then he pointed to the horizon. "Look over there!"

I followed his finger, spotting what looked like a village off in the distance. Lights were everywhere, and there seemed to be a lot of small houses. Blinking frantically, I tried to see if I was imagining its presence. It never disappeared no matter how I looked at it. "There's a village!" I exclaimed. "Jace, we're saved!"

He chuckled, picking up the pace a little. "I never thought that we, strong, super-sexy shadow-hunters would ever need saving."

"But then again, you never saw this coming." I finished for him, seeing that the village was now only half a mile or so away from us.

My fingers tingled at the mere thought of warmth and a fire, and being able to be safe from the cold and dark of night. My feet subconsciously picked up their pace, meeting Jace's also elongated strides.

As we neared the village, I quickly noticed that it was completely decked out for the holidays. The small town reminded me of how I had dreamed "Santa's Village" of looking, especially with all of the snow adorning every rooftop. Every color used was vibrant, and almost everything seemed to be hand made. Signs showed up, and when we were close enough to see what they read, I noticed that they made little sense for a normal mundane village in the middle of nowhere.

The first one stated, "_Toy Factory to the right,_" while the next said in cursive script, "_Pole of the North Cafe, to your left."_

I gave Jace a quizzical look. "Are these for real? They make it seem as though we're actually in Santa's village."

He shrugged. "Is Santa that fictitious old fat guy that mundanes believe to sneak down their chimneys and deliver presents during the middle of the night on Christmas Eve?"

"Yeah. All the kids love him, event though they'll eventually find out that "he" was just their parents all along."

Jace chuckled. "When did you stop believing?"

"I stopped when I was seven."

Neither of us noticed the short little man who had snuck up behind us until he broke into our conversation. "Why did you stop believing? And if you claim to no longer believe, why are you here?" He asked, almost scowling at us, adding on as an after-thought, "the Polar Express filled with nonbelievers isn't due for another few hours…"

"Who are you?" Jace asked, reaching for his only weapon, which happened to be the exact stele that put us in this mess in the first place.

The man made no move to disarm Jace, in fact, he simply ignored him, still looking at me. "You never answered my question, Clary Fray. Why did you stop believing?"

My eyes widened, and Jace gripped my waist protectively. "How do you know my name?"

"I'm Hanson, one of Santa's lead elves. I know every kid we deliver, or used to deliver to. That still leaves my question unanswered, along with the few others regarding why you are here."

Jace chuckled. "Maybe Alec was right. We are probably passed out drunk, dreaming of all this happening."

Hanson was still unamused, and still ignoring Jace. "So, are you planning on answering me any time soon? You see, it's Christmas Eve, and I am quite busy, as are everyone else up here, except you two apparently."

I answered hi honestly, seeing how he seemed adamant upon discovering the truth. "My mom had actually walked in to my room carrying all the presents from 'Santa' one year, waking me up and confirming any suspicions I had about his being real. As for why we're here, I used this rune that ended up portaling us here somehow, and we've been looking for a way back since."

Hanson nodded, looking skeptical. "There's no rune that does that in the book of shadow-hunting runes, though I suppose you probably used your special ability to create one, right?"

Jace cut in, angry, pushing me behind him as though he thought I needed to be protected by the four foot tall man ahead of us. "Who are you, and how the hell do you know so much about my girlfriend and the shadow world? Are you a pedophilic creepy warlock or something?"

Hanson rolled his eyes at Jace's rudeness, as most people do upon meeting him. "As I stated previously, my name is Hanson, and I am one of Santa's elves with enough knowledge clearance to know every boy and girl we deliver to, Jace Wayland. As for my knowledge of the shadow-world, it is simply because we also deliver to shadow-hunters. No, I am not a warlock."

"You never delivered to me." Stated Jace. "As you haven't to any other boy or girl, because 'Santa' and all this mundane folk-lore is a bunch of bologna."

I watched as Hanson closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. "That is where you are quite wrong, Jace. Despite Valentine's wishes otherwise, we still gave you gifts, although it came as much trouble for us. Do you remember those wooden swords you used to sleep with as a little kid?"

Jace nodded, and Hanson continued. "We gave you those, Jace, and Santa is real. Even though you don't deserve it, I could take you to meet him."

"That's not necessary." Jace said, sarcastically. "I don't need to see another one of those fake, mall Santas."

"Jace." I admonished. "Maybe we should just give all this a chance…"

"NO way! I rather leave this village, and freeze my balls off."

I looked to Hanson. "Jace doesn't mean that, he's just a little moody at times."

Hanson nodded in agreement. "That he is, though you were always a sweet little child, Clary. Always on the Nice list."

He looked to a watch on his wrist, which I noticed was hand-made, closely resembling the one the conductor wore from the Polar Express, as it marked his lateness. "Oh dingle! I am very late, and must be on my way. Clary, you can follow me if you wish, as long as you can get that boyfriend of yours to shut his trap momentarily."

I nodded, before looking to Jace and linking hands with him. "Come on, Jace."

He planted his feet, shaking his head. "No way, am I going with that man, and neither are you. Didn't Alec advise that we do nothing stupid?"

It was my turn to roll my eyes. "Alec also thought we were drunk out of our minds, and refused to help us. Now come on."

I kissed Jace on the lips, shutting him up and earning a chuckle from Hanson before we followed him through the footpaths of the village. A few more short people with pointy ears, who I presumed were elves, passed us on our way to what Hanson called the main square.

My eyes widened at the beauty of the square. It was actually circular, floored with cobblestones, and had what looked to be a bell tower stickling out from the middle of it. The tower was stone, with a large clock on each of its four faces, and had a countdown to Christmas, which stated that there were only four hours left. Boys and girls, all short and elf-like, crowded the square, roughing from place to place, entering some of the stores and buildings on the outskirts of the area. Dead in front of us, behind the magnificent tower, was a large building the size of a Walmart, that was labeled as "Santa's Workshop."

The giddy, childish side of me grew excited, as all of my childhood dreams appeared to be coming true. Could it even be possible that all of this was actually true, that Jace and I were not dreaming, and Santa and his helpers were all real, and lived in this magnificent place?

Jace rolled his eyes at my awe, though I could see he was also curious, and Hanson chuckled. "Come, children. The man you wish to see is just inside, although very busy."

"I don't wish to see him, you're practically drag gin me to him." Jace mumbled, though Hanson was back to ignoring him.

We followed Hanson throughout the front door, only to be amazed yet again by the wonder of the building. Toys and gift wrappings were everywhere, along with more elves. Everyone was busy, whether it was by carting toys out of the area, wrapping gifts, or building the gifts. Christmas music was ll that could be heard besides some simple tinkering and clanks, and I was wowed by the whole system.

Hanson broke me out of my reverie by pointing towards a staircase and a door at the back of the room. "He should be in there, making final preparations. I'll allow you two to walk in and see him, though I have to get back to work." He said, hastily checking his watch, which only confirmed his suspicions. "Tell him I sent you."

Before I could thank him, the man was gone, and Jace was speaking. "Do you really believe any of this?"

"I don't know, Jace. I want to, but it would go against everything I know. It's kinda like when you told me about the shadow-world. I didn't really believe you at first, although it was in fact, real."

I walked down towards the door, not even looking to see if Jace was behind me. Pulling open the door to where Hanson said Santa would be, I paused, almost nervous about what I would see. Looking around, it was soon made known that the room was an office, and sitting upon a desk at the back wall was none other than Mr. Claus.

He didn't look up from his work. "Hanson, what do you need? You do realize that we are all on a tight schedule…"

When neither Jace or I responded immediately, the man looked up, surprised. "Clary and Jace? What are you doing here?"

"Hanson sent us." I said hurriedly.

He nodded slowly, as though he was thinking it over. "Why? Surely the Polar Express isn't here yet…"

Jace cut in. "We got lost up here, and found your village. Your little elf man servant told us that all of the tales are true, and that you could take us back to out home on your way to delivering stuff."

"Ah, yes." The man replied, as though finally understanding. "I almost forgot that you two were unbelievers. Didn't that tutor tell you two that all of the stories are true?"

"Well, yes." Jace stuttered at the man's mentioning of Hodge. "But he never said anything about this."

"I do believe the tale of Christmas is indeed a story, Jace." Santa said. "And it is indeed real, as you both can see, but I think I could manage to take you two home tonight. How was it that you got here?"

It was my turn to answer. "Well, you see, sir, we were trying out this new rune…"

"One you invented?" He interjected.

I nodded. "One I made. Neither of us was sure what it did, and Jace really wanted to try it out, and when we made it, it brought us to the middle of the North pole, which we just assumed was a really cold part of the Arctic. When we wandered around for a few hours in search of help, we found this village, and met Hanson."

"It was fate." Santa said happily. "The rune brought you two here, and now you believe again. How wonderful!"

"Woah!" Jace said. "Neither of us ever said we believe any of this stuff."

"But to see is to believe, right?" Santa said, playing Jace.

"Whatever." Jace replied dismissively. "Can you just take us home?"

Santa checked a few lists and charts on his desk, before nodding. "That could be arranged. Come, the sleigh will be leaving soon, and you guys can ride with me back to New York."

"This guy is really creepy." Jace whispered to me. "Scratch that, this whole experience has been really creepy."

An elf poked his head through the door behind us. "Everything is loaded and accounted for, sir."

Santa nodded, smiling. "Thank-you, Carlistle. I'll be out there momentarily to address the children upon the Polar Express."

The boy left. "The sleigh is outside, follow me." Santa said, leading us out a door in the back.

Jace made a noise of annoyance. "Come on, dude. You can stop it with the whole, "Santa is real" thing. We're not buying it."

"That's unfortunate." Santa stated. "But I am sure you will both be true believers after I return you to the Institute."

We walked into a clearing, which I soon recognized as the main square. Unlike before, the whole place was packed with Elves, and I noticed a large Christmas tree which I hadn't seen earlier. There was a train there as well, along with some mundane children who were gathered around a large sleigh that was connected to nine reindeer, who I could only presume were named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Vixen, and Rudolf. The front reindeer actually had a red nose, which was quite realistic looking, and I realized couldn't possibly be fake.

Children and elves began to cheer as we made our way the the sleigh. Santa paused, putting up a hand to silence them. When the place was quite enough, he began to speak with a clear, booming voice. "Hello, and welcome to the North Pole. I hope your journeys upon the Polar Express were tolerable, and that you had a good ride. Now, who would like to receive the first gift of Christmas?"

The children began to wave their hands madly, in response, which earned a chuckle front he large bearded man. "How about you?" Santa said, pointing to a girl with pigtails in pink pajamas.

She scampered up to his lap, and began to whisper in his ear. He nodded. "That can be done."

She giggled, thanking him, before making her way back to the other children. Santa began to speak once more. "The first gift of Christmas will be two tickets on the Polar Express next year, for her parents, whom she claims no longer believe in the magic of Christmas."

Jace and I made our way into the sleigh beside him, squeezing ourselves next to the large sack of toys.

Santa picked up the reins. "Merry Christmas to all, and to all have a good night!" He exclaimed, looking forward and slapping the leather in signal to the deer strapped in front of us. "On Dasher, on Dancer, on Prancer, on Vixen; on Comet, on Cupid, on Donner, on Blitzen! Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!"

There was a large lurch, before the sleigh made its way into the air, traveling at great speed. I only had a second to look down at the square before it disappeared into whiteness. "I believe." I whispered, only loud bough for Santa to hear.

He chuckled. "As you should, Clary. As every child should."

"Should what?" Jace asked. "Wow, this thing goes faster than people say it does."

"Every child and person upon this Earth should believe in the magic of Christmas, as it keeps us innocent when nothing else does." Santa concluded, before driving us the rest of the way back to the Institute.

~Line Break~

Jace and I stood in front of the Institute for a moment, completely lost in what we had just witnessed. Within the past few hours, we had been brought to the North Pole, discovered that Santa actually is real, met him and his elves, and been driven home by him. Santa had just driven us, by sleigh, though the sky and back to our home. All of the tales of my childhood had just been proven true, contrary to common beliefs. It was still hard to comprehend, and if Jace hadn't been there with me the whole time, I would have thought it as a dream.

I looked at Jace, who was still staring blankly at a single spot in front of him. "That was so weird." He stated, turning to face me.

"Yeah." I agreed, grabbing his hand. "We should probably go inside, it is midnight you know."

He nodded, walking up the front steps. "Am I just dreaming, or did all of that actually happen?"

"That just happened, I think."

I opened the door as quietly as possible, trying not to wake any of the Lightwoods, who would probably be sleeping at this hour. Before we could enter and close the door behind us, I heard a distant train whistle. Looking to Jace, I could see that he had heard the same noise, and was also thinking the same thing as I.

_Since everything else seems to be true, could the Polar Express also exist?_

_**AN: The Polar Express? Could I possibly be foreshadowing something for an upcoming one-shot? Hmmm? You'll all see I guess. Before I go, don't forget to review, as it makes it a lot more probable that I will write all twelve shots BEFORE Christmas. If I don't finish them by Midnight on Christmas, I won't finish them this year. REMEMBER THAT. Also, according to the schedule I made, next update is in three days if I follow the schedule, and there will be both a shot on Christmas eve and Christmas. Other stories of mine will probably be on hiatus for the most part until after the holidays. Thank you.**_


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